Weekly Summary – 133 Miles in 14 runs. Fantastic week w/ two great lighter speed sessions and a huge last very long run of 29+ miles here in Quito. Feeling great in this last big chunk of work and excited to taper down, rest up, and go for it. Less than 3 weeks to go!

If you don’t know about the Road to 50K, check out the announcement post from last week and follow along at Road to 50K site designated to covering the event. And of course, you can follow me day to day on Instagram and Twitter (@TylerCAndrews) and my daily training log on Strava (GPS included!). Don’t forget to check out STRIVE’s 2018 Programs – we’ve still got a few spaces available for high schoolers, college interns, and adults! You can come do service work and train with me in Peru or Kenya and for the summer of 2018, we’ll once again have programs for High School and College students, and even 10-day trips for adults and families, so be sure to take a look if you’re interested in an amazing summer experience!

 

Lunes, 19 de Marzo, 2018 – 9am: Pretty tired this morning w/ big day yesterday. Very easy run around the park. 2 big laps 17’38, 17’29. Headphones died after 20’. Bummer. Nice day though, sunny for the most part. Finished at the the track and did 6x strides, 200m in 33.2. Good regeneration. Total run 13km in 61’.

XT: Toes

5pm: Easy run around the park. A bit rainy this afternoon and still a bit of drizzle but not at all unpleasant. Gosh it’s going to be hard to leave here. 2 big laps in 16’15, 16’03 (a bit shorter because I skipped the grassy bit since it was really wet), then to the track. 4x strides, home. Total run 11km+ in 50’.

Martes, 20 de Marzo, 2018 – Sparknotes: 8km (track) in 28’14 w/ 100m easy, 100m fast.

7am: Jogged down to the track for the morning’s session. Almost didn’t get out of bed this morning as I was just super tired. Been feeling really exhausted the last few days, still catching up on sleep from last week and getting into the higher mileage.

Long warmup with the gang as usual w/ some very slow jogging, a lot of drills, some strides. I was doing a different workout from most of the rest of the crew as I had such a big workout in my legs from Sunday. The idea was to do 8km continuous w/ 100m quick, 100m easy. Basically doing strides for 8km. At first, this seemed like an awful lot, but in retrospect, this was actually a really nice workout.

I split my watch each lap and though the first one was quick (81), that was probably because I started with the “off” jogging of the curve and was probably running quicker there than I should have. From there, I was very consistent mostly around 85/lap, a couple a bit slower where I had to cut out into lane 2 or 3 when the group was going by, and a couple quicker where I guess I ran faster. I originally thought of just going to 5K but I felt very good at that point, no strain at all, just good turnover, etc.

Got to the last 2km and tried to pick up the pace a bit and did run a bit quicker those last few laps. And did, last 2km was 6’49. Very good for a nice light session today.

Cooled down easy on the grass and then home. Total run 18km.

0.4 1:21 137 bpm
0.8 2:46 1:25 150 bpm
1.2 4:12 1:26 154 bpm
1.6 5:38 1:26 155 bpm
2 7:06 1:28 157 bpm
2.4 8:32 1:26 160 bpm
2.8 9:56 1:24 161 bpm
3.2 11:20 1:24 162 bpm
3.6 12:45 1:25 162 bpm
4 14:08 1:23 163 bpm
4.4 15:34 1:26 162 bpm
4.8 16:59 1:25 163 bpm
5.2 18:23 1:24 164 bpm
5.6 19:48 1:25 164 bpm
6 21:15 1:27 162 bpm
6.4 22:39 1:24 164 bpm
6.8 24:02 1:23 166 bpm
7.2 24:25 1:23 167 bpm
7.6 26:49 1:24 166 bpm
8 28:04 1:15 168 bpm

5pm: Easy shakeout. Finally got a good 11km clockwork loop. 2 big laps in 16’29, 16’29. Some stomach issues again. Stopped at the track and ran into a guy who I’d met before but can’t remember his name and had a nice chat before strides. 4x strides and then easy home. Total run 11km+ in 49’.

XT: Toes

Miercoles, 21 de Marzo, 2018 – 9:30am: Slept very long last night and ran later. Easy today and shorter around the park, 2 big laps in 16’39, 16’20 and then long way to the track. Stopped and did 6x strides which felt very good and then 200m in 30.x. Very good energy level. Beautiful Sunny day. Finished up around town over to Inaquito to meet Mariana and do some grocery shopping. Total run 13km- in 57’.

XT: Toes

5pm: Clockwork shakeout to the park. A bit of tummy discomfort but a spectacularly sunny late afternoon, so can’t complain. Listening to “The Fault in Our Stars” on audiobook which just got real sad but only cried like a baby a little bit. Legs felt good though. 2 big laps in 16’15, 15’55. To the track after, 4x strides which felt excellent and then home. Total run 11km in 48’.

XT: Toes.

Jueves, 22 de Marzo, 2018 – Sparknotes: 1k @ 3’00, 2k @ 6’12, 3k @ 9’26, 1k @ 2’57. 2’ jog rec.

7am: Jogged down to the stadium for another early session with da boyz. Felt much better this morning than Thursday. Way better energy level during warmup, drills, etc.

I was working out solo againb because my workouts were backwards the rest of the crew this week (i.e. their workout tuesday was my thursday and vice versa). So, today was 1k, 2k, 3k, 1k w/ 2’ jog recovery. On paper, not a super tough workout because the paces weren’t super fast. Just “ritmo” as Prof Franklin likes to call it.

I mostly focused on staying relaxed and closing each rep harder than I started. The 1K I ran like 1’31/1’29, then 2K was like 3’08/3’04 and then the 3K was something like 3’08, 3’10, 3’06. The last rep was like 1’30,1’27. I definitely find it harder to stay on pace on these longer reps at altitude. I think it probably has to due with the fact the the altitude makes the perception of effort much higher even at a relatively moderate pace. Anyway, got it done and didn’t feel too tired at the end.

Nice barefoot jog on the field after for about 2km and then drove home with Mickey and his friend Andres to chill in the pool and have breakfast. Lovely morning.

Total run 16km in 70’.

5pm: Easy clockwork shakeout. Legs felt very good so obviously no issue from this morning. Running 4’30 out the door and 2 big laps in 16’01, 15’49. Finished on the track, 4x strides, and then home. Some bad gas cramps on the strides and home, but made it back w/o issue. Total run 11km in 48’.

XT: Toes.

Viernes, 23 de Marzo, 2018 – 8am: Slept well and long. Felt very good this morning and did a nice longer single w/ an easy day tomorrow pre-workout. Did 4 big laps of the park in 16’31, 16’19, 16’13,16’02. To the track after. Legs felt great. 6x strides and then 200m in 31.0. Really nice morning. Finished easy home. Total run 21km in 1h32.

XT: Toes

5pm: Easy clockwork shakeout. Some more tummy issues today. Not sure if I’m just not timing my meals/nap well or what, but just not great the last few days. 2 big laps 16’47, 16’25, to the track w/ a pit stop. 4x strides and then jogged home. Total run 11km+ in 49’.

XT: Toes.

Sabado, 24 de Marzo, 2018 – 8am: Easy run around the park. 2 big laps in 16’37, 16’37, nice and relaxed. Then long way to the track. 6x strides and 200m in 32. Easy home. Total run 13km+ in 58’.

XT: Toes.

4pm: Ran w/ Mel who’s in town! Very easy down to the park and 1 big lap w/ her (16’51 – quicker than I’d expected!). 2nd lap quicker solo (16’21) and then to the track, 4x strides and home. Total run 11km+ in 50’.

XT: Toes.

Domingo, 25 de Marzo, 2018 – Sparknotes: 47.5km in 3’00’49 (3’48 avg). Hilly in Quito (9,300ft) w/ last 9km on track @ 3’45.

7:15am: Last very long run of the block today! Goal was to do 2h50 to 3h00 w/ the last 25-35 minutes on the track a bit quicker and the first 2h25 or so on the roads at a moderate pace.

Started from the stadium as we headed down there to make sure we could get in (we couldn’t – futbol today). So that meant finishing at La Carolina track which isn’t ideal because weekends are a shit-show there w/ walkers, vendors, dogs, etc.

Took a gel before the start (non-caffeinated).

Felt pretty good right away. Probably because I’d been up quite a while at that point. Jon had told me to really not worry at all about the pace for the first 2+ hours of the run and just run comfortably and by feel, so that’s what I did.

I really didn’t look at the watch hardly at all in the first 10-20km. I’d naturally split the run up into a few big chunks. The first was around the park and then to the northbound terminus of the ciclopaseo (about 10km which includes a very large uphill section ~9-10km). I passed Mariana around 6km who gave me a bottle but I wasn’t very thirsty so just carried it for a while (she was originally planning to bike but her knee was bothering her, so she met me at some key locations to give me nuun).

At the top of the hill at the turnaround ~11km, I saw that my avg pace was already well under 4’00. I figured 3’55-4’00 would be very good for this first 2h25 and figured this would be the slowest chunk w/ the big hill, so I actively didn’t push it at all from there. I felt very good coming down the big hill and then just maintained that rhythm to run 18’22/18’45 for the 10km back to the park, very relaxed though, no strain at all.

From there, the route is a bit more challenging as we head into old town and there’s a bunch of short and steep up and down-hills as we go through the old streets and up and around the panecillo. Again, I actively didn’t look at my watch much as I just wanted to make sure I was running by feel. There are a few particularly steep and long hills (especially right after the panecillo), but even there the slowest KM were 4’03/4’11. I took gels at 20k and 30k as well.

I was still feeling good at this point and it felt like I was ready to tackle the last section on the track. I maintained all the way to the track and got there just around 37-38km as I’d planned.

The track was very crowded as expected and I also had some pretty serious soreness in my outer forefoot at this point (on both sides, interestingly). This is an issue I’ve had w/ very long runs, but usually it’s only happened on the left side. So, I guess if anything it’s good that it was at least symmetric.

Between the fact that I’d already run quite quick up to that point, the pain in my feet, and the zooming around pedestrians, I didn’t end up running much quicker on the track. I do wish I’d been able to run solo at the stadium because I think it would have been a much better close, but asi es la vida. I was still very pleased to finish strong and not feel like I was going completely to the well.

I finished w/ 47km in 3’00’17 (3’51/km). This is by far my fastest long run here (previous best was 45km at 3’57 and that was at 7700 ft). A very good indicator as we get ready to taper down in the next couple weeks.

Splits from Garmin
1 km 3’54.0 (3’54.0)
2 km 7’48.0 (3’47.0)
3 km 11’35.0 (3’56.0)
4 km 15’31.0 (3’47.0) 150
5 km 19’18.0 (3’47.0) 151 (19’11.0)
6 km 23’05.0 (3’52.0) 154
7 km 26’57.0 (3’48.0) 159
8 km 30’45.0 (3’54.0) 158
9 km 34’39.0 (4’11.0) 163
10 km 38’50.0 (4’12.0) 162 (19’57.0)
11 km 43’02.0 (3’44.0) 158
12 km 46’46.0 (3’48.0) 158
13 km 50’34.0 (3’46.0) 159
14 km 54’20.0 (3’32.0) 149
15 km 57’52.0 (3’32.0) 151 (18’22.0)
16 km 1’01’24.0 (3’46.0) 154
17 km 1’05’10.0 (3’39.0) 156
18 km 1’08’49.0 (3’44.0) 158
19 km 1’12’33.0 (3’47.0) 157
20 km 1’16’20.0 (3’49.0) 153 (18’45.0)
21 km 1’20’09.0 (3’39.0) 154
22 km 1’23’48.0 (3’47.0) 160
23 km 1’27’35.0 (3’53.0) 157
24 km 1’31’28.0 (4’07.0) 159
25 km 1’35’35.0 (3’46.0) 154 (19’12.0)
26 km 1’39’21.0 (4’11.0) 157
27 km 1’43’32.0 (3’57.0) 157
28 km 1’47’29.0 (3’44.0) 153
29 km 1’51’13.0 (3’50.0) 153
30 km 1’55’03.0 (4’03.0) 158 (19’45.0)
31 km 1’59’06.0 (3’53.0) 159
32 km 2’02’59.0 (3’51.0) 158
33 km 2’06’50.0 (4’08.0) 159
34 km 2’10’58.0 (3’42.0) 157
35 km 2’14’40.0 (3’49.0) 156 (19’23.0)
36 km 2’18’29.0 (3’46.0) 159
37 km 2’22’15.0 (3’48.0) 160
38 km 2’26’03.0 (4’02.0) 160
39 km 2’30’05.0 (3’34.0) 166
40 km 2’33’39.0 (3’46.0) 166 (18’56.0)
41 km 2’37’25.0 (3’47.0) 160
42 km 2’41’12.0 (3’42.0) 163
43 km 2’44’54.0 (3’54.0) 162
44 km 2’48’48.0 (3’57.0) 164
45 km 2’52’45.0 (3’45.0) 166 (19’05.0)
46 km 2’56’30.0 (3’47.0) 165
47 km 3’00’17.0 (3’47.0) 166

4:30pm: Very slow shakeout around the park. Only 1 big lap in 18’42 and then home – no strides today. Total run 5.6km in 29’, 53km for the day.